Black Children More Likely to Face Tougher Punishment at School, A Report finds.

A report has found that black children are more likely to face tougher punishment at school because they are viewed as "less innocent" by teachers.The Commission on Young Lives in England report said that black children can feel unsafe and over-policed at school due to being viewed as more adult-like. This process of "adultification" can lead to black children being disciplined in a more harsh manner.

Children are also more likely to be excluded.Former children's commissioner Anne Longfield chaired the commission. She said: "It's very real and it has a huge impact on children's lives. Essentially, it's young people being viewed as older. That means that we look after them slightly less, and they don't get the protections and safeguarding they should."The year-long commission has been looking at how to improve the life chances and support for vulnerable teenagers to prevent them from being exploited in schools or by criminal gangs.

The shocking Child Q strip-search case has been highlighted in the report as an example of adultification. A 15-year-old black schoolgirl was accused of being in possession of cannabis. Two Metropolitan police officers strip-searched her without an appropriate adult present.The report also said that this kind of treatment is having a damaging impact on young black people's confidence in both schools and with the police, where they are less likely to be seen as victims.

Recommendations from the report include better race-equality teacher training, a more inclusive curriculum to tackle racial discrimination and more black teachers in classrooms and leadership roles.Jahnine Davis, director of child-protection company Listen Up, said: "Black children are at a greater risk of experiencing this form of bias, due to preconceived ideas about black children being aggressive, deviant, and almost needing to be safeguarded from, rather then safeguarded."Davis continued: "Black girls tend to be met with suspicion. They tend to be perceived as being loud, as being aggressive and being hyper-resilient.

If you want to explore the adultification of black girls, we have to look at the history, which is rooted in slavery and colonialism."Davis' Listen Up company provides workshops to schools and other organisations in England and Wales educating them about the experiences of marginalised young people.